Goal 11 - Fast Facts

WHAT IS GOAL 11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES?
Goal 11 is about making cities and human

settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and
sustainable.
Cities represent the future of global living. The

world’s population reached 8 billion on 2022
over half living in urban areas. This figure is
only expected to rise, with 70 per cent of
people expected to live in cities by 2050.
Approximately 1.1 billion people currently live
in slums or slum-like conditions in cities, with
2 billion more expected in the next 30 years.
However many of these cities are are not

ready for this rapid urbanisation, and it
outpaces the development of housing,
infrastructure and services, which led to a rise WHY ARE CITIES NOT FUTURE PROOF YET?
in slums or slum-like conditions.
Most of the urban growth is taking place in
Urban sprawl, air pollution and limited open small cities and intermediate towns,
public spaces persist in cities. exacerbating inequalities and urban poverty.
Good progress has been made since the In 2020, an estimated 1.1 billion urban
implementation of the SDGs in 2015, and residents lived in slums or slum-like
now the number of countries with national conditions, and over the next 30 years, an
and local disaster risk reduction strategies additional 2 billion people are expected to live
has doubled. But issues still remain and in in such settlements, mostly in developing
2022, only half of the urban population had countries.
convenient access to public transport.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST PRESSING
Sustainable development cannot be achieved CHALLENGES CITIES ARE FACING?
without significantly transforming the way Inequality and the levels of urban energy
urban spaces are built and managed. consumption and pollution are some of the
challenges. Cities occupy just 3 per cent of
the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80 per
cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent
of carbon emissions.
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WHAT IS GOAL 11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES?
Many cities are also more vulnerable to IS IT EXPENSIVE TO PUT SUSTAINABLE
climate change and natural disasters due to PRACTICES IN PLACE?
their high concentration of people and
location so building urban resilience is crucial The cost is minimal in comparison with the
to avoid human, social and economic losses. benefits. For example, there is a cost to
creating a functional public transport network,
HOW DOES IT AFFECT ME? but the benefits are huge in terms of
economic activity, quality of life, the
All these issues will eventually affect every
environment, and the overall success
citizen. Inequality can lead to unrest and
of a networked city.
insecurity, pollution deteriorates everyone’s
health and affects workers’ productivity and
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP ACHIEVE THIS
therefore the economy, and natural disasters
GOAL?
have the potential to disrupt everyone’s
lifestyles. Air pollution caused affecting the
Take an active interest in the governance and
health of millions is not only an urban problem,
management of your city. Advocate for the
but is also affecting towns and rural areas.
kind of city you believe you need.
WHAT HAPPENS IF CITIES ARE JUST LEFT

Develop a vision for your building, street, and
TO GROW ORGANICALLY?
neighbourhood, and act on that vision. Are
The cost of poorly planned urbanization can there enough jobs? Can your children walk to
be seen in some of the huge slums, tangled school safely? Can you walk with your family
traffic, greenhouse gas emissions and at night? How far is the nearest public
sprawling suburbs all over the world. transport? What’s the air quality like? What
are your shared public spaces like? The better
By choosing to act sustainably we choose to the conditions you create in your community,
build cities where all citizens live a decent the greater the effect on quality of life.
quality of life, and form a part of the city’s
productive dynamic, creating shared To find out more about Goal #11 and other
prosperity and social stability without harming Sustainable Development Goals, visit:
the environment. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment
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Department of Global Communications | August 2023

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WHAT IS GOAL 11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES?

Goal 11 is about making cities and human

Cities represent the future of global living. The

However many of these cities are are not

WHAT HAPPENS IF CITIES ARE JUST LEFT

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